Even though it was just a faint greeting, the words "Elder Qian Yue" struck the woman across from her like a thunderbolt. Her delicate body shuddered violently, and she jerked her head up, staring at Yang Kai in utter disbelief.
In the next instant, her beautiful eyes blazed with a mixture of shock and joy, as though she recognized Yang Kai but couldn't quite bring herself to believe it. Her expression was complicated beyond measure.
"What's the matter? Has Elder Qian Yue forgotten about me?" Yang Kai offered her a faint smile.
"Yang Kai!" Qian Yue cried out involuntarily, one hand flying to her mouth, her eyes trembling wildly. "It really is you!"
"In a place like this, who else would know you're Elder Qian Yue?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
Qian Yue's expression grew even stranger. She stared blankly at Yang Kai, looking half inclined to laugh and half inclined to cry. Her face wrestled with emotion for a long while before she finally regained her composure. A look of warmth flickered in her eyes, as though she had found a long-lost family member. She took a soft breath, her full chest rising and falling slightly, and then greeted him: "Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to run into you here."
Yang Kai flashed a grin: "I didn't expect it either."
"Right, please sit down," Qian Yue snapped back to her senses and hurriedly gestured for him to sit.
Yang Kai nodded and took a seat as asked.
Qian Yue sat down as well. With their eyes meeting, both fell silent. Clearly each had a bellyful of questions they wanted to ask, yet neither knew where to begin.
Qian Yue's emotions were unsettled, and Yang Kai's were no different. This woman before him — "Miss Yue'er" — was none other than Elder Qian Yue of the former Ice Sect on the Tongxuan Continent!
Yang Kai hadn't had much direct interaction with her. They were really only acquaintances. However, she had once guided Su Yan in her cultivation. Though there was no formal master-disciple relationship between them, there was still a bond forged through the passing of cultivation knowledge.
Back then, when Meng Wuya had returned to the Tongxuan Continent with Xia Ningshang and Su Yan through the Void Passage beneath Zhongdu, he had been entangled with affairs of his own — specifically, he needed to break the Heavenly Xuan Sealing Art that Demon Lord Changyuan had placed on him. Since he couldn't stay to protect Su Yan indefinitely, he had entrusted her to the Ice Sect, a reclusive organization that kept to itself.
Later, Yang Kai also arrived on the Tongxuan Continent. After much inquiry and roundabout searching, he made his way to the Ice Sect, where he had met this very Elder Qian Yue. He had even exchanged blows with her.
Back then, the Ice Sect had housed several Entering Saint Realm elders besides Qian Yue. Among them was a man named Qian Hao — Qian Yue's own brother. And the Ice Master, Qing Ya, had possessed a cultivation at the third stage of the Entering Saint Realm, making her one of the most powerful figures standing at the absolute peak of the Tongxuan Continent.
At that time, Yang Kai had only been at the Transcendent Realm. The fact that he could fight against several Entering Saint Realm experts of the Ice Sect was entirely thanks to his Soul-Devouring Insects. In the end, he had forced the Ice Master Qing Ya to come out in person, and after a thorough discussion, he had finally been able to merge souls with Su Yan, bringing their Yin-Yang Harmony Technique to its ultimate completion.
In less than twenty years, someone who had once been an Elder-level figure Yang Kai needed to look up to was now reduced to working in a pleasure house. She appeared to have no freedom to make her own choices, reduced to waiting here for clients to select her so she could use dual cultivation techniques to help them break through their bottlenecks. How the world had changed — the vicissitudes of fate truly moved Yang Kai deeply. Moreover, his own cultivation had now surpassed this Elder Qian Yue's.
A whirlwind of thoughts flashed through his mind. Then Yang Kai's expression shifted slightly, and he smiled: "I've heard that Miss Yue'er once practiced ice-attribute techniques. I wonder where you originally came from, and how you ended up in this place?"
Qian Yue's delicate brows furrowed, and she instinctively glared at Yang Kai. But upon catching the strange glint in his eyes, she suddenly understood his intent and replied flatly: "I did indeed practice ice-attribute techniques in the past, but that has nothing to do with our honored guest. As for how I ended up here — that is not something our honored guest needs to concern himself with."
Yang Kai was unfazed. He simply smiled placidly: "In that case, I won't ask. However, when we engage in dual cultivation later, it would naturally be best if we communicated more. I'd like to have a proper chat with Miss Yue'er to get to know each other better. What do you think?"
"If the honored guest requests it, this humble woman will naturally cooperate." Qian Yue's reply was just as measured.
Yang Kai gave a slight nod, then casually began chatting with Qian Yue about all manner of things — mostly trivial matters and interesting rumors from various places. Qian Yue listened with evident interest. Though her expression remained cool, a hint of curiosity shone in her beautiful eyes.
After a good while, Yang Kai's words trailed off. His expression grew serious, and he gave Qian Yue a subtle nod: "It's done. That monitoring divine sense has already withdrawn."
Qian Yue's expression also turned grave, and surprise flashed across her face: "Yang Kai, you really are hard to see through. Back then, you were merely at the Transcendent Realm and had the audacity to storm the Ice Sect single-handedly. Now you've come to this Pleasure House and can even detect the divine sense surveillance of those people. How did you manage that?"
The divine sense monitoring this place could only belong to a Return to Void Realm powerhouse! If Qian Yue hadn't noticed the strange look in Yang Kai's eyes, she never would have cooperated so willingly.
But Qian Yue could clearly sense that Yang Kai's cultivation was merely at the second stage of the Saint King Realm — and that astonished her greatly.